Allen Weiner

Earlier this year, in a report titled “Newspapers Explore the Value of Converged Experiences,” I contemplated the idea of how newspapers are attempting to break out of a single-channel delivery mentality into one in which various content forms come together to create compelling engagement for readers. Video, of course, is one foundational element in that experience, and if you look to the Texas Gulf Coast and how print newsrooms are covering Hurricane Ike, you can see some sterling examples of how newspapers have evolved into first-rate TV channels.

Houston Chronicle Coverage of Ike

Yes, TV channels. And these channels pose a threat to local broadcasters who are seeing ad revenue erode forcing many to cut back on news budgets. Local stations are looking to such “innovation” as reaching out to camcorder-toting citizen media sorts to supplement and extend coverage for their Web channels. While it’s far too early to measure its impact, effectively telling stories in front of a camera—any camera—is much more difficult than it looks.

And that’s where newspapers have an advantage. Not only are reporters natural story-tellers, over the course of the past decade, reporters and columnists are go-to guest experts on the local and national news giving them the opportunity t hone their on-air skills. At any given hour, CNN, MSNBC or any number of the cable news clones is likely to feature the smiling face (and opinion) of a newspaper reporter. Add in the fact that many newspaper photographer have become skilled videographers and you find the print newsroom looking like what industry pundits call “digital newsrooms.”

Today’s digital newsroom, for the most part, consists of a bottoms-up approach in which a group of digital natives eagerly experiment with Web 2.0 delivery channels that they can deploy without the (often bureaucratic) assistance of the IT department. A small number of forward-thinking newspapers do understand the dynamic role of Web development, such as quickly adding new social media features to their Websites, and are arming themselves with hybrid IT-news folks or working with third-party developers who understand these evolving newsroom needs.

As we speak, newspaper publishers and newspaper group CEOs are trying to get their arms around how to use technology, such as implementing new content management systems, to reverse the current red ink fortunes. I will be attending the IFRA in Amsterdam at the end of October and am anxious to hear their stories and learn how vendors are responding to meet this challenge.